Day 29

Yummy goodness. MMMmmmmm, this pizza makes me really happy. Even happier, because Chris made it and not me. Thanks Alicia! Recipe HERE.

Day 28

We have been playing lots of games around here lately and Hit the Deck is McKenna and Brooklynn's favorite. They were playing so nicely today. A rarity so I was very happy about it. (And, yes, it was a different day and yes, I know McKenna is still wearing the pj's from yesterday. That's how we roll with sick days around here.)

Day 27

We have got the sickies around here and today was McKenna's turn. We had fun playing lots of games today. Hit the Deck is one of McKenna's favorites!

Day 26

Today was a perfect example of being able to "find joy in the journey". Tyler had put a 2-liter bottle of Sprite back in the fridge....lying down on its side....and didn't screw the lid on all the way. So later, when I opened the fridge, there was a nice trickle of Sprite, dripping down the front and pooling up at the bottom. Oh, did I mention it was on the top shelf? So rather than dwell on the negative, let us look at the positive side. My fridge is now clean, top to bottom! I am proud to say that for the first millisecond I was irritated but then I quickly said to myself, "I know what I can be grateful about today!" A clean fridge.

Day 25

Our wonderful tenants that have been in our rental for the past 2 1/2 years gave us notice about a week ago that they were going to move out. They have been the best tenants ever and we are so sad to see them go. But, I am super happy today because we found new tenants (who seem really great)!! It is always such a stressful time waiting to see if we'll get it rented right away. But, we were blessed and the timing worked out perfectly!

Day 24

Today Brooklynn was still a little sick so I kept her home with me. We played several games of Candyland and Old Maid. I love this Old Maid game because it is exactly the same as the one I used to have as a kid. Same characters. I always loved Careless Carrie and Fifi Fluff. Brought back some memories of my own childhood.

Day 23

Ok, so I am cheating here, I totally forgot to take a picture. But, this picture was taken today, just not by me. By Brooklynn. And, it makes me happy. Because you just never know what you are going to find when you download the camera. Brooklynn loves to sneak the camera and take pictures of very random things. Like an extreme close-up of a Barbie. It's a little glimpse into her world and what she thinks is important.

Day 22

Today was Brooklynn's actual birthday. I can't believe our "baby" is 5!! She was pretty excited about her "tangled" gift as she calls it. I am so grateful that we have her in our family. She is a bundle of joy and full of personality and I can't imagine life without her.

Day 21

Today Brooklynn had her very first "friend" party. She was so excited and had so much fun planning out the details, buying stuff for the party and creating her guest list. She decided on a princess theme so all the girls came in a princess dress. They were pretty cute. I had a lot of fun with it to.

Day 20

Today Brooklynn helped me make her birthday cake for her party. She was so excited and very exact in what she wanted from flavors to decorating. She is a pretty good little helper too. She cracked all the eggs, added all the ingredients and mixed it for the whole 2 minutes.

Day 19

This year, as part of some New Year's resolutions, we (mostly me, ok only me) decided that we needed to stop watching so much TV. As in, none, most of the time. Except for one family movie a week on Saturday night. (And long drives in the car). It has been really great. I haven't missed it at all. At first it was a little tough when I really just needed a digital babysitter, but overall we have all learned to adapt. The best part is that we are having more family time, we are reading our scriptures, playing lots of games, doing puzzles, playing with long lost toys and finding time to do the things we never had time to do before....like build dog patios.

Day 18

Today, I found the top of my dryer. I haven't seen it in a REALLY long time. It becomes a catch-all spot for things that need to be put away. But today, I finally put them all away! Yay for me!

Day 17

Today Chris decided to build Roxy a little roof patio. It filled me with joy to see that maybe he really does like this dog. She was spending like 90% of her time just standing on her roof. So, he put his power tools to use and whipped this up. Now she spends ALL of her time up there and won't even go inside her doghouse.

Day 16

Today, Lauren and the girls got creative and designed a board game to play as a family. The kind where you make up rules as you go along. Like when someone lands on your space you get sent home and nobody can pass the rock unless you roll a 4. Then change the rules because you realize between those two rules, nobody is going anywhere. Good times.

Hold On A Minute

Ok, this picture a day thing is WAAAYYYY harder than I thought it would be. Really, only one picture a day. How hard can that be, right? Wrong! I am struggling. But I started this so that I could find things to be grateful for and find joy in my mundane everyday life. Some days, that is really tough. Others, it's hard to decide which one to choose. One thing I know for sure, I HATE my camera. I am so sick of fuzzy, grainy, green-ish, orange-ish pictures. And, I know some of it can be chalked up to operator error, but my old 5mp camera took better pictures than this one. Oh well, I digress. On to the posting for this week.

Day 15

I was really glad that I was able to go to the temple today. It felt so good to detox from the world.

Day 14

Tonight when we were reading scriptures, I was summarizing what was happening and where we were at since we had just finished one book and were about to start another. I was saying that Moroni was the only Nephite left and was hiding and I asked the kids where he was hiding. The answer I was looking for was a cave, but McKenna said "In the Book of Ether!". It was pretty funny. Maybe you had to be there. Nevertheless I was happy that we were reading scriptures even if we were missing Dad and Lauren, happy that it's been two full weeks without fail, and, happy that the kids enjoy it.

Day 13

Let's just say this was the only thing I could find "joy" in today.

Day 12

I am full of German Chocolate Joy today.

One might think a photograph of the actual cupcake might have been a better choice. I am not ashamed to admit that I snarfed it down too quickly for that. As it was, I had to dig the label out of the trash.

Day 11

Today I went out to start Chris' car for him before he left for work to warm it up a little. I was struck by how grateful I was that it started right up. It's an old van and we have thought that it is about to die for several years now. But she keeps hangin' on and every morning starts right up. I'm grateful for two working vehicles because I don't think we could manage with just one.

Day 10

I overhead this conversation between McKenna and her friend:

"I'm not cold, I'm used to it. I'm part Werewolf!"

It was about 20 degrees outside. At least her feet were warm!

Day 9

These two crack me up. Never mind that it hasn't been above freezing for nearly two weeks and there is snow and ice on the ground outside. As far as these two are concerned, it might as well be 90 outside!

Day 8

I was soooo happy to have this guy home. He went on a Scout camp-out, far away in the snow, in the "Uinta's"...which is my code word for "MAKE MOM PANIC". (Boy Scouts are always getting lost in the high Uinta Mountains on scout camp-outs.) No matter how much I trust his leaders, I always worry.

Day 7

We have given up TV indefinitely for the new year. So except for one weekly family movie night, we have been finding other ways to entertain ourselves. I decided that I wanted to watch some old home videos and thought the kids might enjoy them too. We have all had such a fun time watching all the old videos. This was Tyler (3) and Lauren (18mo) - Christmas 2001.

Day 6

Today Brooklynn had a dentist appointment. She was a little bit nervous about it because it isn't her favorite thing to do but she likes getting a new toothbrush and a prize. We have also been struggling with some separation anxiety issues for a few months and she was worried all day that I would have to leave her (which I didn't, but she still worried about it). But, she did great and didn't have any cavities!! That made my day. The dentist also found her first wiggly tooth and that made Brooklynn super happy!

Day 5

I have been trying to coupon for almost two years now. I can't believe that it has been that long. I am not very good and I just don't have the time and the dedication to really get into it. And, I don't love it. For me it is about the practicality of saving money, not the challenge. But, I try and every now and again I find a really great deal and it keeps me motivated to keep trying. Today was one of those days. My total before coupons, store promotions and my club card was $87.43 and I paid $5.72, a 96% savings!

Day 4

We have been back on board reading our scriptures as a family every night. As I looked around the room last night, I was filled with joy to see everyone reading together.

Day 3

I feel like I spend most of my days breaking up fights and view my role as mother as more of a referee. I forget to focus on these moments when things are peaceful. It was really a joy to see these two playing so nicely today and sharing.

Day 2

I am really grateful for my father-in-law, Darl Gleed. He is so good to our family and has been so patient with me throughout the years. He reminds me in a gentle and loving way that it's ok to be a kid and it's ok to have fun. He is always so willing to let the kids go wherever they want, do whatever they want and just let them be kids. He knows that everything should be better at Grandpa's house! He's an expert on "finding joy in the journey".

Day 1

I know that this picture isn't actually from Jan. 1, 2011 but when I finally decided for sure I was going to tackle this project, I was already behind. We spent New Years in Idaho with Chris' dad. It was SO cold! At night it was between 8 and 11 degrees below zero and the high was 15 degrees! It was usually hovering around zero. So I was very grateful for a warm home, warm clothes and a warm car. We spent most of the weekend indoors.

365 Days...

I have followed several friends/family who have done 365 day photo projects. Some have had themes, others are just a picture a day. I have wanted to start one for a couple of years but never got around to it. So this year, I am going to give it a whirl. I wanted to do a themed project and have decided that "finding joy in the journey" is the approach I want to take. The power of positive thinking is remarkable. I know that I could benefit from finding joy in each day and remembering that. I know that even with my regular blog, it is fun to go back and re-read the entries. I am reminded of how good life really is and that when you look for something positive, you will usually find it. I tend to look for the negative and dwell on it and it doesn't make for a very happy life. So this is my way of looking for the positive. Here's to finding joy in the journey, every day, for 365 days!